Stencil roller



Feb. 5, 1957 D. C. WRIGHT STENCILROLLER Filed May 24, 1955 ATTO R N EYS nited States Patent O STEN CIL ROLLER Donald C. Wright, St. Petersburg, Fla. Application May 24, 1955, Serial No. 510,633 Claims. (Cl. 101-123) This invention relates to stencil applicators particularly of the type used for stenciling names, letters, and other characters on boxes and particularly shipping boxes and cartons where letters are cut from portions of a strip or `sheet of oil board or paper, and in particular, a pair of rollers having soft rubber outer surfaces mounted in a frame having a handle extended therefrom and posii, 2,780,166 Patented Feb. 5, 1957 A further object of the invention is to provide a stencil applying device in which the device is supported on a pair of rollers whereby the entire device, including the handle thereof, is adapted to remain in an upright position. v

A still further object of the invention is to provide a stenciling device including a pair of inking rollers-in combination with a supply roller and a handle in which the device is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in View, the invention embodies a substantially U-shaped frame Y having spaced rollers with soft resilient sleeves on outer tioned to contact an inking roller rotatably mounted in a U-shaped section of the frame and positioned to rest upon the soft rubber surfaces of the stenciling rollers.

The purpose of this invention is to facilitate stenciling letters, characters, names, and the like on boxes, shipping cartons, and other containers and to provide means whereby ink used for stenciling such devices may be applied with rollers instead of the conventional stenciling brush.

In numerous instances it is necessary to stencil letters, characters, names, and the like on shipping cartons, containers, and particularly wood boxes for this use oil board or metal of a thickness such as .012" and .015" with openings outlining letters and the like therein is placed against the surface of the container and black ink applied with a brush relatively small in diameter. The stencil brush being relatively small in diameter, only one or two lines may be stenciled at a time, making considerable brushing necessary before the entire stencil is covered. Furthermore, if the stencil brush, `whether of the plain or fountain type, is not properly primed with just the right amount of ink in the bristles, the impression will not be good. With tooulittle ink the stencil must be `scrubbed excessively to -get a dark enough impression. Too much ink will cause smearing and running of the ink under the stencil. Furthermore, accumulations of dry pigment form at the edges and in corners of the letters.

With this thought in mind it is the purposeof my invention to provide a device that would apply thev stenciled impression much faster bycovering a greater area 'of the stencil with each stroke -of Vthe rollerand to apply the stencil with greater ease since less V'eiiort is required to roll the stencil impression on than to brush it on. This of course would result in less fatigue-. ln addition, the fact that ink is fed from the inking roller to the stencil rollers in the proper amount, thereis practically no danger of getting a. smeared stencil impression, and in addition, the rolling action eliminates the accumulation of Vdried pigment at the edges and corners of theV stencil letters.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for mounting rollers having relatively soft resilient surfaces whereby the rollers are "adaptedgto be applied over a stencil and wherein the rollers -aiefpositioned to contact an inking roller continuously.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stenciling roller that is adapted to be used in vcombination with '5"' conventional stencils howisiuse. v u

Another important object of the invention is to `provide a stencilingrollerinwhich inking means is provided in combination with a pair of-rolle'rs whereby stenciling rollers areinked continuously as they are used."

surfaces thereof rotatably mounted in the frame, an

` upper U-shaped frame extended upwardly above the frame in which vthe rollers are mounted, an inking roller positioned in said upper U-shaped frame and adapted to engage the soft resilient surfaces of the former rollers, and `a handle having a U-shaped bracket also pivotally mounted on the frame and positioned whereby said spaced rollers may be `actuated over a stencil.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following'description, taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the improved stencil roller with the parts shown in operative positions.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the roller with the parts as shown in Figure 1 and with the handle broken away.

Figure 3.is an end elevational view of the improved stenciling roller looking toward the front end thereof.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through the roller taken on line 4--4 ofFigure 2 and also showing the device with the handle broken away.

Figure 5 is a sectional plan through one side of the device taken on line 5-5 of Figure l, with 'the parts shown on an enlarged Iscale and showing the relative positions of the mounting elements.

Figure 6 is a sectional plan taken on line 6-6 of Figure l `also with the parts shown on an enlarged scale and illustrating a connection between the inking roller and U-shaped frame in which the roller is mounted.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, the improved stenciling roller assembly of this invention includes a U- shaped mounting frame having side bars 10 and 11 extended from a crossbar 12, rollers 13 `and 14 with soft vresilient sleeves on outer surfaces thereof, the sleeves being indicated by the numerals 15 and 16, respectively, an inking roller 17 rotatably mounted by a pin 18 in elongatedslots 19 and 20 of arms 21 and 22 of an upper U-shaped frame having la top platef23 and pivotally mounted on rthe side bars 10 and 11 with shoulder screws 24 and 25, and a handle 26 mounted in a ferrule 27 on a crossbar 28Lof a U-shaped frame having side arms 29 and 30.`

The rollers 13 `and 14 are rotatably mounted on shafts 31 and `32 that are positioned in openings, such as the openings 33 and 34, respectively,of the side bars 10 and 11 and, as shown in Figure 5, shafts 31 and 32 are provided with heads 35 and threaded studs 36 on which nuts 37 are threaded. The shafts are provided with shoulders 38 against which the nuts are threaded whereby, spacing means is providedV to prevent binding between the side bars and ends of the rollers.

The upper UV-shaped frame includes the top plate 23 that is positioned to be engaged by the forenger of a hand gripping the handle, wherebyv pressure may, be appliedto forceV the roller 17 against the surfaces of the rollers '14 and 15, and side arms 21 and 22 pivotally `mounted bythe shoulder screws 24 and 25 in the side barsorrplatcs 10 and 11, and upward swinging movement of the frame is 'limited by cylindrical or iillister head screws 39 and 4) that are positioned to be engaged by projections '4i and 42. By this means the inking roller is retained in engagement with the sleeves 15 and 16 of the rollers 13 and 14. The sleeves-15 and 16, although preferably formed of sponge or foam rubber, may be made of a suitable comparatively soft resilient material and with the parts mounted as shown and described the rollers may readily be removed and replaced so that as the sleeves 15 and 16 Wear they are adapted to be removed and replaced.

The position of the inking roller 17 is equalized whereby both of the rollers 13 and 14 are engaged with equal pressure and to provide free movement of the roller 17 the shaft 18 upon which the roller is mounted is retained in the horizontally disposed slots 19 and 20' and, as illustrated in Figure 6, shoulders 43- on the ends of the shaft 18V extend through the slots 19 and20 of the side arms 21 and 22 and nut 44 threaded on studs 45 are spaced slightly from outer surfaces ofthe arms 21 and 22. The ends of a sleeve 46 upon which the roller 17 is mounted are also spaced inwardly from the inner surfaces of the arms 21 and 22 whereby slight lateral play is provided preventing binding and permitting free movement of the roller.

TheV handle 26 is secured in the ferrule 27 with a suitable fastener, such as the screw 47, shown in Figure 4, and the arms 29 and 30 of the bracket on which the handle is mounted are pivotally :connected by shoulder screws 48 and 49 which are threaded in the side bars and 11 and, as illustrated in Figure 1, the handle 26 is retained in an upwardly disposed position by the head 35 and nut 37 of the shaft 32.

With the parts designed and assembled in this manner, the elements of the stencil roller are freely mounted and by rolling the continuously inked peripheral surfaces and 16 of the rollers 13 and 14 backand forth over the stencil ink is applied through openings of the stencil to the surface of a box or the like with the double rollers providing more efficient inking, and withthe rollers spaced as shown in Figures l and 4 a complete device, with the handle extended therefrom, is self-supporting and is adapted to remain in an upright position, as shown in Figure l, when the device is not in use.

The soft peripheral surfaces of the rollers permit portions thereof to extend through openings of stencils whereby ink on the surfaces of the rollers is carried through stencils and applied to surfaces of boxes, cartons, and other containers so that the necessity for brushing the ink through small openings of the stencil with a brush is obviated. With the' ink applied by the rollers, it is also not necessary to hold the stencil with one hand as the pressure of the rollers retains the stencil in'position upon a box or other container and, consequently, stenciling is accomplished in less time. l

The top plate 23 of the inking roller frame is so designed that additional pressure can be applied, when needed, with the forefinger while rolling the device thereby increasing the contact pressure between the'felt inking rollerand the resilient peripheral surfaces of the stencilingrollers to feed more ink as may be needed. Furthermore the pivotal mounting of the upper U-shaped frame by means of shoulder screws 24 and 25 is designed so that the upper U-shaped frame can be quickly removed and snapped back into position for the purpose of inking the felt rollers. The inking roller is replenished with ink by rolling it in a shallow pan of ink.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A. stencil roller comprising a horizontally disposed mounting frame, spaced rollers `having soft resilient surfaces rotatably mounted in said frame, arms'pivotally mounted on the frame and extended upwardly therefrom an inking roller rotatably mounted in said arms and positioned to contact surfaces of the spaced rollers, and a handle pivotally mounted on and extended from said frame.

2. A stencil roller comprising a horizontally disposed U-shaped mounting frame, spaced rollers having soft resilient surfaces rotatably mounted in said frame, an upper U-shaped frame pivotally attached to the mounting frame, an inking roller rotatably mounted in the upper U-shaped frame, said upper U-shaped frame being positioned whereby the inking roller contacts the surfaces of the rollers of the mounting frame, and a handle pivotally mounted on said mounting frame and extended therefrom.

3. An inking device for use on a stencil comprising a mounting frame having side bars, spaced rollers with resilient peripheral surfaces rotatably mounted in the side bars of the frame, an upper U'shaped frame also pivotally mounted in the side bars of the mounting frame, an ink-ing roller rotatably mounted in said upper U-shaped frame andy said upper U-shaped frame being positioned whereby the inking roller rests upon and is in engagement with the resilient surfaces of said rollers, and a handle'pivotally mounted with the U-shaped bracket on the side bars of the mounting frame.

4, In an ink applying device for use with a stencil, the combinationI which comprises a mounting frame having spaced parallel horizontally disposed side bars, spaced transversely disposed rollers having soft resilient peripheral surfaces rotatably mounted in the side bars of the mounting frame, arr upper U-shaped frame having side arms extended from a top plate, means for pivotally mounting the upper U-shaped frame on the mounting frame, said side arms of the upper U-shapcd frame having horizontally disposed longitudinally positioned slots therein, a shaft extended through the slots of the upper U-shaped frame, an inking roller mounted on the shaft the ends of which are positioned in the slots of the upper U- shaped frame, said upper U-shaped frame being positioned whereby the inking roller Iis in engagement with peripheral surfaces of the rollers of the mounting frame, a U-shaped bracket having side arms extended from ends of a4 crossbar, means pivotally connecting the side arms of the bracket to the side bars of the mounting frame, and a handle carried by and extended from said bracket. 5. In an ink applying device for use with a stencil, the combination which comprises a mounting frame having spaced parallel horizontally disposed side bars, spaced transversely disposed rollers having soft resilient peripheral surfaces rotatably mounted in the side bars of the mounting frame, an upper U-shaped frame havingl side arms extended from a top plate, means for pivotally mounting the vupper U-shaped frame on the mounting frame, said side arms of the upper U-shaped frame having horizontally disposed longitudinally positioned slots therein, a shaft extended through the slots of the upper U-shaped frame, an inking roller mounted on the shaft the ends of which are positioned in the slots of the upper U-shaped frame, said upper U-shaped frame being positioned whereby the inking roller is in engagement with peripheral surfaces of the rollers of the mounting frame, means for limiting vertical movement of said upper U- shaped frame, a U-shaped bracket having side arms extended from ends of a fcrossbar, means pivotally connecting the side arms of the bracket to the side bars of the mounting frame, and a handle carried by and extended from sai'd'bracket.

References Cited in the le of this patent Y UNITED STATES PATENTS n Re. 10,263 Tappan 'Dec.'26, 1882 628,651 Cummings July 11, 1899 1,477,479 Evans Dec. 1'1, 1923 1,829,579 Beach V-- Oct. 27, 1931' 

